Tourism agencies and the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) are on a collision course over abandoned and under-repair boats of the department occupying half the number of berths at the Ernakulam Boat Jetty.
Tourist boats and those operated by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) are not able to call at the jetty since operational and non-operational ferries occupy all the 14 berths, said an official of the Kerala Tourism’s regional office.
“The SWTD has not paid heed despite our repeated pleas to shift the five abandoned fibre ferries to the department’s yard at Thevara,” he added.
Vigilance case
A total of 10 fibre ferries of the department are lying unused ever since they were procured from the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) over 10 years ago. The decision not to use them followed the Thekkady boat tragedy that claimed over 40 lives. A Vigilance case on their purchase further sealed their fate, at a time when commuters from West Kochi are demanding more ferry services from the city. Meanwhile, sources in the KTDC said its vessels too could not be berthed at the jetty owing to lack of space. They are at present berthed near the Bolgatty Palace Hotel.
“Apart from being eyesores, the abandoned vessels have become a haven for anti-social elements at night. Moreover, they are a threat to the safety of oil terminals in the vicinity and the port. The SWTD must either shift them to its yard or auction them,” the tourism official said.
Biennale
West Kochi Boat Passengers’ Association president Padmanabha Mallya said the demand for ferries would be more during the Kochi-Muziris Biennale from December to March. “The SWTD must operate more boats to cater to the demand. For this, abandoned and under-repair ferries must be removed from the jetty,” he added.
Mr. Mallya expressed deep concern over the 10 boats that were purchased for Rs.4 crore being abandoned, at a time when there is acute shortage of ferries to transport passengers to West Kochi.
Responding to the issue, SWTD Director Shaji V. Nair said the five ferries at the jetty and five others in Alappuzha must be shifted elsewhere due to pending litigation and space paucity at the jetty. He claimed the jetty belonged to the department, and that some tourism officials wanted to hand over a few berths to operators of private tourist boats.
